The Grand Ol’ Nats Plus

Have you ever noticed that given the opportunity to do something enough times it becomes a habit, like building cars or attending an event? I’ve been around both, much like every STREET RODDER reader, my entire life and I have and always will be thoroughly fascinated by and enjoy them. Such is the case with our favorite car or our favorite event, and so it should be with our favorite national event. There are a number of great events to participate in but there will always be one Nats.

The National Street Rod Association has hosted 43 of the “Nats”, as they have come to be known and called. (Nowadays with the expansion of model years, more than 30 years old, the event is officially referred to as the NSRA Street Rod Nationals Plus.) There was a time when this event moved about the greater central part of this country, giving the opportunity for more and more to attend by not having to travel as far. About 1998 the size and scope of the event became such that finding one great location and setting up home, so to speak, was evident. (Louisville, Kentucky, during the first week of August may not be everyone’s ideal calendar week or location but the fact remains the NSRA Annual Street Rod Nationals Plus has flourished at the Kentucky Expo Center. This year marked the 18th time the Nats have shown up at the KEC gates. Back in 1988 and then 1994 attendance records were set.)

Such is the case with this past summer’s 43rd annual meeting of hot rods, representing all years, makes, models, sizes, shapes, and colors. It truly is a gathering of what’s going on within our industry at this moment. Interestingly, it also allows you to get a glimpse of what might be coming in the future (especially with the wildly popular new product section), and current builds that are displayed both indoor and outdoor at the various manufacturers’ exhibits. This year was again a block buster year with 9,886 participants, 60,000-plus spectators, 310 exhibitors (indoor and outdoor), and 40 individual activities in addition to the cars and vendors.

High on the list of “must see” while at the Nats is the Builder’s Showcase, which features many outstanding builds from many of the country’s top builders. Located in the main hallway it runs the entire length of the 750,000-square-foot area and one must walk through these cars in order to get inside the main showroom floor. The Builder’s Showcase is a worthy show within a show and well worth the time it takes to view each and every one.

Another “must see” is the new product section located on the show floor; this room unto itself housed nearly 200 new products that are being shown for the first time and represent new ideas emerging into our industry. Lots of very cool “must have” products for your current ride or next build.

One of the most appreciated and longest running Nats features is the Rod Repair Shop hosted and manned by the Michigan Hot Rod Association. (It receives sponsorship from many of the industry’s well-known companies.) Nothing is worse than to find yourself and your hot rod with a problem and no resources at hand. These guys come to the rescue year after year and repair and replace countless troubled items on many a hot rod. A job well done.

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There are a number of other worthwhile venues to make your Nats experience a worthwhile trip. For instance, the seminars on various technical aspects of building a car are always a big hit, the swap meet is a must if you need that one special part, the NSRA Safety Team is on hand to give you confidence (or give you direction) on what it takes to have a safe ride, and many other individual events. Examples of other individual events within the Nats are the Classic Instruments Pros Pick and Vintage Air and its “29 Below”, which are typical of the types of happenings that allow rodders to have more highly directed fun. Also, there’s great music with this year’s attractions being Fabulous Motown Revue and Papa Doo Run Run. There is an all-denomination church service on Sunday, so to say there’s something for everyone would be a safe.

There’s no denying that come the first week of August each summer you know where it’s happening within the world of hot rods and, yes, it’s Louisville, Kentucky. See y’all there next year.

The “first” of the reproduction ’55 Chevy post sedans was unveiled during the Nats. The bodies are assembled by Real Deal Steel and exclusively distributed by Woody’s Hot Rodz. Shown are Editor Brennan and Woody’s Chris Sondles with the car that is a STREET RODDER project, “Totally Gassed”.

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Project Shop Truck made its debut: the Hot Rods by Dean–built ’47 Chevy body from Chevs of the 40’s rests on a Fatman chassis with a Chevrolet Performance LS327 and TCI Automotive tranny. (Special thanks to Dwight Hall of Raynor Door Co. for taking care of many of our projects before and after the Nats for many years.)